CN-TT wrote:It was a good and very busy show for us
I have a question to our North American members here: If there is no sign that says "Please, do NOT touch!" does this automatically mean "Go on, feel free to touch everyting that is within your reach!" ??? It sometimes felt we were in a hands-on museum.
I think the modern generation is very "Touchy-Feelie". A simple "Please Do No Touch" sign will cure much of the problem. Of course there are those who think the rules do not apply to them, or whose parents do not care. For them PlexiGlass fronts on special modules will help.
Setting up poles and ropes around the display means probably less stress but also means more material to haul. That is not really a good option.
You are right, more stuff to haul and setup and store. If the poles and stands are heavy enough to stand up properly, they are too heavy to carry. And the public pushes them in or knocks them over or trips on them.
Moving the tables so there is more space in front of the modules as has been suggested, will help.
The electric toggle switches should be disguised or removed from the front or covered or replaced be key lock switches or vulnerable areas can be equipped with clear acrylic screens in the front.
The control switches should be at the back side of the module, in line with the turnout or crossover they are controlling.
We need to establish a standard as to which way the switch is thrown to match the turnout aspect.
I would suggest that "right" or "front" is for the through aspect of the turnout (usually the straight route) and left or back is the diverging route.
To stop inadvertent switch throwing if you put a push button in the circuit mounted on another portion of the module, such that after throwing the control switch, the switch machine did not throw until the button was pushed and held down, that would reduce problems without adding too much complexity.
Hide the toggle switches behind bushes and paint them to reduce their visibility. Put the push button behind a bush or fence.
There is one more thing we should consider for future shows. If only one guy is running the display, there should be only one train running on the inner circle and one train on the outer circle. If we would like more trains to be running, we need more guys and more throttles. And one train should be assigned to one specific throttle and one real human engineer.
Yesterday I shot a short video before the crowd came in. Unfortunately the quality is not very good due to the not so good lighting in the hall.
Nothing wrong with the video. Good shots of trains and scenery.
The new hopper cars shows up nicely in the mixed train.
We seem to like tank cars. I need to convert some more Maisto cars. They are a bit small but they look good.
